Light My Heart
by Musicstarnc
Summary: A year after Deep Blue's demise the aliens are still living on Earth since the mew aqua did nothing. But Kisshu has other problems. A force darker and more powerful than anything the mews have faced before; and they want Kisshu's sister, April, who's part in a dark prophecy could end or save them all. Can they save her before her light goes out for good? Kishigo
1. Panic and Heartbreak Issues

**So I was inspired to pick this story back up by a newfound friend and favored author. Thank you for inspiring me because I probably never would have picked this story back up without the inspiration to do it. Thanks!**

Kisshu paced the cafe's floors anxiously. He couldn't believe what he'd heard when he got the news. He walked over to the table where all of his letters were placed and read over the latest one again. In his father's messy scrawl it described that he'd gotten back in contact with her after a while. He claimed she was okay and she was a coordinator now. Whatever that was. Kisshu didn't care at this point. His father didn't know what he did. Every minute he was on Earth now felt like the minute his sister was ripped away from him. He was having a hard time taking it.

But the other half of him wanted to remain on Earth. He was happy here. He had Ichigo as well as many others by his side. Even Taruto and Pai had stayed. Taruto and Pudding were friends. Pai could read and spend his time here as a real scientist. A geneticist; like Shirogane. He spent alot of time studying. Under a human disguise Pai actually was thinking of attending college. Kisshu didn't have the luxury of stressing about college exams or whether Ichigo liked him or not. He was just lucky like that.

No. Kisshu got to wonder about whether his sister was even alive anymore. What was happening to her? He had to know. It was going to rip him apart from the inside.

"Kisshu?" Mint's voice. He turned toward her. She was dressed to work in the cafe. "It's almost time to open. You should get up there."

He forced a smile. It wasn't hard but still fored. All he had to do was think of Ichigo. "Okay." She turned. "Uhm, Mint?" She looked back. "Have you heard from Ichigo?" Mint sighed.

"No. But she should be over him by now. That was two moths ago! I think she's set a new record for how long people can sit around their house and mope" Mint said, clenching her fist in annoyance. Ichigo and Aoyama had broken up two months ago. Nobody really knew why. If you asked Ichigo you got something melancholy and in gibberish and then she started bawling. Nobody wanted to ask Aoyama, least of all Kisshu even if he wanted to know the reason for the best news of his life. At first the mews had been sympathetic but it was time for her to move on. "She better show up for work today or I'll get her... personally" Mint said darkly. Kisshu gulped. He took a shaky breath and headed upstairs.

He had been working in the back as a baker with Keiichiro. The customers often complimented his food. Kisshu was used to doing alot of cooking. Plus, in the kitchen he didn't have to hide since no one saw him.

"I don't think Ichigo-san is coming in today either" He heard Lettuce murmur.

"That's it!" Mint said. He heard the sound of slamming and walked outside to see what was going on. Mint had jumped up and slammed both her hands on the table. Her face was pure fury. She whipped out her cellphone and dialed a number.

"Put it on speaker" said Zakuro. Kisshu didn't think that Zakuro would be interested in this sort of thing, it shocked him a little.

It ringed a couple times. _"Hello...?" _Said a sniffling voice on the other end. Ichigo. She souded like she was crying. Again.

"Are you crying?!" Mint demanded.

_"Mint?"_

"Are. You. Crying?"

_"Not really... just sort of being sad." _Hearing Ichigo sound this heartbroken almost made Kisshu want to cry. But it also made him want to snap Aoyama like a twig for making her like this. He wasn't some hot-shot fighter. But he could be lethal if he was mad.

"Come into the cafe. Today! Before I come over to your house and drown you - IN YOUR OWN TEARS!" Mint snapped the phone shut without letting her answer.

To everyone's surprise Ichigo did show up. She looked... gloomy. Her hair was something like a rats' nest but the wrong color. Her eyes were puffy and her face was red. She was just wearing a T-shirt and a skirt with boots. Thankfully Lettuce knew what she was doing when it came to hair and makeup. She took Ichigo into the back and made her look presentable. Her hair was silky and smooth. She had on her work uniform and Lettuce had made her face look alot more naturally colored with the aid of makeup.

Ichigo had gotten fairly good at faking smiles and she seemed normal. Ichigo walked into the kitchen. "Is the strawberry tart done yet?"

"Almost. I just have to put on the finishing touches." Kisshu said. He placed a strawberry on top of the tart. "Done." He brought it over to Ichigo. He frowned. "You know Ichigo you should learn to smile a bit more naturally. I like the way you smile; when it's genuine" Kisshu said. He got a much less sad smile.

"Better?"

"Much better. But Ichigo, I wouldn't fret over someone like him for too long. So he was one bad seed. There are plenty of fish in the sea" Kisshu reasoned. Ichigo sighed.

"I know. My mom says that your first love is the hardest one to get over. But I'm tired of feeling depressed. I'd like to be happy again" Ichigo said.

"That can be arranged" Kisshu said mischeviously. Ichigo actually smiled. For real this time.

"You know what Kisshu, you're right. And I should have listened to you. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course." As much as Kisshu wanted to take her by the hand to somewhere she could be happy he was smarter than to just whisk her off during work. No matter how fun it would be. He'd get her yet; but he wasn't going to make a move while she was just starting to get over the last guy. He'd let her settle back into normalcy, then make his move.

"I haven't seen Ichigo smile like that in what seems like forever" Keiichiro said. Kisshu jumped; he had forgotten that he was there. "I can only hope it gets better from here."

Kisshu nodded. The sooner she got over whatshisface, the sooner he could capture her heart. The day ended. Kisshu was helping clean up. "I think we should tell the girls. They might be able to help" Keiichiro suggested. Kisshu frowned. He didn't like the idea of the other helping him solve his crisis. But, as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. Ryou gathered the girls downstairs.

"Guys. We may have a new issue on our hands. Something much worse than what we've had to deal with. But this is more Kisshu's story than mine so I'll let him tell it from here" Ryou led off, gesturing for Kisshu to add on.

He cleared his throat. "Uhm, well... from what I've heard something bad is going on. I don't know all of the details but... my sister. She went missing a month after I left for Earth. Then she miraculously returned. I of course hear about all of this after the fact but I found something... disturbing." He shifted. "She never actually came back to the planet. She stayed where she was. Apparently she's a coordinator now. I don't know what that is but that's beside the point." He took another long, shaky breath. "I think someone is trying to kill her." Dumbstruck pretty much described what the mews' faces looked like.

"Do any of you know what a coordinator is?" Ryou asked. No one moved. Ichigo looked thoughtful though; like she'd heard that somewhere before but couldn't quite remember.

"Why do you think someone wants to kill her?" Lettuce asked.

"The night I opened those letters when I fell asleep It was completely dark but I could hear people. They were talking about April. They said she'd never go back so the only way to get it would be to take it, whatever it is, it could be a number of things knowing her, and if they take it... she'll die."

"So you were dreaming someone wants to kill your sister?" Mint asked.

"It didn't feel like I was dreaming it felt like I was... intruding on a meeting. Hearing something I wasn't supposed to hear."

"I've got it!" Ichigo said cerimoniuosly.

"Got what, Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"I know what a coordinator is!" Ichigo looked pleased with herself, a big improvement over nothing but sadness.

"Well out with it!" Said Mint.

"Okay so a coordinator is someone who competes in these contest thingies for ribbons. Once they get eight or something they can go to a finals like thing and compete for top coordinator. The one I saw was for something called the mini league. I thought it was fake but maybe it's not if she really is a coordinator. When you guys came to Earth we got a whole bunch of random channels that weren't there before. Last week I was still bored and sad so I clicked on one of the channels and caught most of one of them." Ichigo explained very fast. Kisshu had never wanted to kiss her more in that moment. But he restrained himself.

"Did you by any chance see a coordinator named April? I have a picture if you want to see what she looks like" KIsshu went through the files and letters on the table until he found what he was looking for. "It's old but that's her." The picture depicted a seven-year-old Kisshu and a five-year-old little girl standing with two adult cyniclons. The man was tall and lean with black hair and gold eyes. His skin was a tone darker than anyone else in the family, but he was still pale. Kisshu had his eyes and build but they didn't look much else alike. The woman was shorter with longer green hair in a braid over her shoulder and eyes that were such a beautiful blue color they might have been made of crystal. The five-year-old girl had wavy black hair and the same eyes as Kisshu. They both had their bangs cut the same way, she even had strips of hair tied in front of her ears. Exactly as her brother had it. Recognition flashed in Ichigo's eyes.

"Yeah she was one of the few first round coordinators I got to see. But the announcer person said she was from Snowpoint City. She looked almost exactly like that." Ichigo said. Well of course she wasn't going to say she was from another planet.

"Was the contest you saw live or a repeat?" Mint asked.

"I think it was live" said Ichigo. This day was getting better and better for Kisshu.

"Do you know where the contest took place?" Ryou asked. He was already at his computer. Ichigo had to think about it.

"Viridian City, I think" Ryou tapped a few buttons. They waited a long time to get results.

"Viridian City, in the Kanto region?" Ryou aksed. He had a map up and something about the mini league. He pulled a picture of the town.

"I didn't see the town. But that's probably the place" Ichigo said.

"How do we get there?" Kisshu asked.

"I don't think you can teleport there. Not only is it another planet it's in another dimension" Ryou said. Kisssu took back every single bad thing he's said about Ryou having access to finiding multiple dimensions through his super computer.

"Is there any other way of getting there?" April got there somehow. Kisshu needed to know how.

"I'll look into it" Ryou said, already tapping buttons on his computer. "It's getting late. You guys should go turn in for the night." They all nodded and left to change into normal clothes.

Kisshu gathered the files off the table and took them back with him into his room. All three of the aliens had been staying in the left over rooms in the back. There had only been two. He and Taruto shared a room and Pai got one all to himself. Taruto was completely absorbed in a video game. Pudding had given him a gameboy she didn't use anymore and some adventure game. Taruto barely noticed Kisshu walking in. He placed them on his bed and walked back out. He wanted to thank Ichigo properly. Now they knew where she was. As it turned out Ichigo was the only one still there.

She was drying her face in a towel; probably washing all the makeup off.

"Ichigo?"

"Hmmm?" She folded the towel and placed it back on the rack. "Oh, hi Kisshu."

"I just wanted to thank you."

"Why?"

"Because we probaby never would have found her without your help."

"Hmm. Well I think I should be thanking you."

"Oh?"

"I'd prbably still be moping aroud right now Iif it wasn't for you. I think I'm finally ready to move on." She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "So thank you, Kisshu. You're one of the greatest friends ever!" _Friends!?_

Kisshu tried to not look horribly depressed. "Oh, uh, thanks. Well, you should get going. You're parents will get worried if you stay here too long."

"You're right. See you!" Ichigo left just like that. Poor Kisshu walked back to his room and flopped onto his bed. He picked all of the letters up (after crumpling many by laying on them) and just pushed them on the floor.

"Something wrong Kisshu?" Taruto asked. Saving his game and looking at him.

"Yeah. Same old issue" Kisshu said bitterly. The treehugger was out of the way but Ichigo _still _was not interested in him. Kisshu wasn't giving up, not by a long shot. But he wasn't going to pretend it didn't bother him. He tried to not think about it and focused on happy memories of his sister, eventually driftiing off to sleep.

_"La, la, la, la, la, la la la. La, la la la, la la laaa" April sang as Kisshu topped off dinner. He was nine years old, April was seven. April probably didn't mean to do it but all of the muscles in Kisshu's body were reaxed and he felt hopeful. Like many other cyniclons April had a power. She could sway emotions with her voice. "Kish, do you think papa will be home for dinner tonight?"_

_ "Maybe, April" Kisshu said. He couldn't ruin her good mood. Kisshu knew that he would likely be working late again. Their dad worked late a lot. The kitchen was small with white furniture and appliances and sunny yellow walls. April was doing her homework as Kisshu cooked. He placed a warm bowl of soup in front of April, and ladled out a bowl for himself. He placed a cover on the pot then sat across his sister at the table. _

_ "Wow. Look at the snow outside!" Snow was pretty much an everyday occurence. But this snow was fine and sparkly. Diamond dust; Kisshu remembered his dad calling it. _

_ "Come on eat your dinner before it gets cold" Kisshu said. Then they heard the front door open. The siblings looked at each other then made a beeline for the front door. _

_ "Daddy!" April yelled throwing herself at the older cyniclon. It was the man from the picture but he was a little older, his hair was beginning to gray. He still looked fairly young. _

_ "Dad! I thought you would be working late tonight" Kisshu said. He was happy that his dad was home. _

_ "If I worked late every night and left my two young children alone almost every day what kind of a father would I be?" Kisshu's dad asked, but he had a mischevious twinkle in his eyes and was smiling. _

_ "Kish made dinner. Soup tonight" April said. _

_ "He did? Well then let's eat." Kisshu's dad said. The trio sat down and ate dinner. April fell asleep some time later but Kisshu and his dad were awake. They were clearing away dinner. "Kish, I'm sorry that you have to take care of your sister so much. I wish I could be home more to take care of you guys." He sounded sad. _

_ "That's okay, Dad. I don't mind." Kisshu was telling the truth. It had to be hard being a single parent raising two young kids. He'd never tell anyone but he wished his mom would come back. Then they could be a family of four again. His dad laughed. _

_ "I know that you're very mature. But you shouldn't have to be. Go get some sleep, Kish. I'll finish cleaning up." Kisshu knew better than to argue. He just nodded and laid down beside April. As the younger version of himself fell alseep; the older version woke up. _

"Kisshu?" Taruto was leaning over him, looking scared. Morning light filtered through the window. Kisshu sat bolt upright.

"How long was I out?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it. Are you okay?" Taruto asked. Kisshu didn't know what he was talking about. He rubbed his eyes and his hand came away wet. Oh, he had been crying in his sleep again.

"Yeah. I was just dreaming about my childhood. I'm okay" Kisshu said. Why couldn't he be a normal teenager dreaming about taking Ichigo out on a date or something? Kisshu got up, stretched and cleaned up the letters he had left on the floor. He shut them away in a drawer. He didn't know why he was crying; the memory hadn't been a sad one. He chalked it up to being homesick and decided to carry on. Means of transportation to another place entirely didn't just find itself.

**So there you go. Sad excuse for a chapter end and crossover fic but oh well. Review please. It's kind of hard remembering what I wanted to do with this story since I lost the original file, but I think I remember the gist of it. **


	2. Find the Way

**Kicking myself for not spell checking last chapter before posting. Oh, well. Sorry about the somewhat late update! I haven't gotten a lot of time to work on this story. And on top of that FF was being stupid when I wanted to post! Please forgive me!**

A thirteen year old trainer leaned over the rail of the boat she was on heading for the Hoenn region. Her silky, dark hair swept behind her shoulders by the wind. She had sections of her bangs tied in front of her ears. She had a small blue crocodile-like creature in her arms. She wore black leggings, an electric blue skirt, a simple white button-up blouse, and hi-top sneakers. Her amber eyes scanned the water rushing beneath them.

"Hey, April!" Said a voice behind her. Two trainers, a stocky ginger-haired boy with blue-green eyes and a girl with incredibly wavy pink hair pulled back by a yellow clip that had a music note on it and matching eyes. She too had a pokémon in her arms. A dark blue mousey creature with a yellow underbelly. The trainer calling her was the girl. "Can you wait until we get to the Hoenn region!? I can't!"

April giggled. "No. The contest is in Lavaridge town right? I certainly can't wait to cream you both."

"Like you could" said the boy. "Bayleef and I have got the whole thing down to a science."

"Really? Good thing Cinder here is a sweeper. A grass pokémon like Bayleef hasn't got a chance at beating us. Plus, Lavaridge town is centered around fire. It's built into the side of a volcano, it's famous for its hotsprings and lava cookies. There's also a fire-type gym there!" The girl chirped in.

"Alright Dorie, just remember that water pokémon have an advantage to fire" April laughed. "Me and Toto are going to win this contest. I can feel it." Toto the totodile made a _"To to, to to, totodile!" _No doubt cheering its agreement with its master.

"You're confident for someone who's been on a losing streak as of late" the ginger said. April smirked.

"Just because you beat me in the second round _preliminaries _doesn't give you bragging rights. Especially since you got creamed in the semi-finals by Layla. And then she went on to win the contest. How long did your match against her last again? Thirty seconds?" April chided him. "So, Alex, I would_ shut up _if I were you." The boy, Alex's face turned bright red. April and Dorie laughed at his expense. The trio was on their way to Hoenn and nothing would spoil their good mood. Well, at least until they got off the boat.

**...Elsewhere...**

Ichigo pulled the pillow back over her head as her mother poked her in the side and pulled the curtains on her bedroom window open. "Ichigo, It's almost ten thirty. Get up!"

"Exactly! It's ten thirty! And Saturday! Let me sleep!" Ichigo argued grumpily. She really didn't want to get up. After many sleepless nights filled with sadness and a late night last night she just wanted to catch up on all the sleep she had missed. She flopped down in protest on her bed and pulled a pillow on top of her head, then the covers. Her mother sighed.

"I guess I can let you sleep one more hour... but you're getting your own breakfast."

"Oh, thank you! I love you so much mom!" Ichigo burst out of her cocoon smiling with a happy tiredness to her face.

"Of course, everyone loves mom when she's saying yes."

Ichigo snuggled back into her covers and pillow. She faded into a dream.

_Ichigo was dressed like a giant strawberry. Think the subway sandwich guys dressed as subs but a strawberry. She was standing on a table with nothing but a blender next to her. Then out of nowhere a giant Ryou appeared and began chasing her across the table with giant hands. He wanted to make her into a smoothie. She wasn't about to let it happen. The she tripped and was rolling across the table. Hoping to fall off the table. She needed a way out. Just as she fell off..._

_ "Koneko-chan!" Kish was next to her, dressed like a watermelon for whatever reason. He sounded urgent. _

_ "Kisshu?"Ichgio asked, clearly confused. He'd been in dreams of hers before (all of them bad either for her relationship or her health) but he'd never been in this one. _

_ "Koneko-chan!" He sounded distant. Like he wasn't really there. Like she was only registering his voice. "Come on, wake up! It's important!" _

Ichigo snapped awake. Kisshu was in her room shaking her awake. "What are you doing in here? And what time is it?"

"Um... force of habit? It's almost eleven. Sorry." Kish cringed. Ichigo had to admit he was cute. But she was not looking for a relationship with someone like him just yet. If ever. She stretched and looked at Kish.

"Alright. What's so urgent?" Ichigo asked.

"Uhhhh..."

"Don't tell me you forgot already. Because if you woke me up for no reason-"

"I didn't forget! It's just... uh..." his cheeks turned pink.

"What!?"

"Well, um... let's just go with I forgot. Anyway, I was thinking that there may be like a transportation thingy somewhere that we could use to get into that dimension."

"You think that someone would just leave a teleporting machine to another dimension entirely just lying around?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly.

"Maybe..." Ichigo hoped Kish knew how dumb it had sounded. He scratched the back of his head. "Actually your probably right."

Ichigo gave him a look that said: _really?_ "Well, it was just an idea" Ichigo said hoping to offer some consolation.

Kish shrugged like it was no big deal. Then they heard footsteps on the stairs. "Uh oh, that's mom!" Ichigo exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"What do I do!?"

"Uh.." Ichigo glanced around her room frantically. Under the desk? No, she'd see him right away. Under the bed? No, Ichigo had a whole bunch of boxes under her bed. The closet? Seemed viable. But what if - no she didn't have enough time to find a better spot. It was the best she could do at that moment. "In the closet! Now!" Ichigo shoved Kish in the closet, slammed the doors closed, and jumped back under her covers. Just as her mom opened the door.

"Ichigo? Honey, I have to go and see a friend for a bit. I'll be home before long but your father is at work so you'll be home alone for a bit, okay?" Ichigo's mom asked.

Ichigo straightened and stretched like she hadn't been talking to an alien a minute before. "Okay" she yawned, disinterestedly. In all seriousness, she was happy about it. Now her and Kish could talk with no distractions.

"Oh, and Ichigo" her mother started.

"Hmmm?"

"You may want to re-button your shirt. Some of the buttons are undone." Her mother commented absently and shut the door. Ichigo cursed under her breath and re-did her buttons. It hadn't been showing off any more than her stomach, for which Ichigo was very thankful, but she'd still looked a little provocative. If that was what Kish had tried to tell her he was either trying not to sound perverted or was much more pervy than she'd first thought. None the less, Ichigo still made sure she was plenty covered before she gave Kish the okay to come out of hiding.

"So, we're alone?" Kish asked.

"Yeah" Ichigo replied. Kish crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Then Ichigo noticed just how tired he looked. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Some. Not much but some," Kish responded.

"Me too."

"What happened to you?"

"Well, I got home at like eleven o'clock last night. Then my parents lectured me for another couple of hours and then I crawled into bed at two in the morning and then my mom got me up at like ten thirty and then you came in. You?"

"I went to bed, had a dream about my past, woke up around dawn crying and couldn't fall back asleep. So I stayed up thinking about stuff. Then I decided that I wanted to see you." Ichigo could feel her face heat up when Kish's amber gaze settled on her. His expression was so happy and dreamy he really looked like someone who loved her with all his heart. Ichigo did the smart thing: she shoved all the feelings rising in her back down her throat with the feeling of swallowing a large, cold lump and pushed Kisshu's shoulder lightly.

"Don't kid around like that" she chided him, not daring to look at him again for fear she would lose control of her emotions.

"Kid around? I'm absolutely serious. I always have been when it came to you," Kish said softly. Ichigo took a deep breath and counted to ten... twenty before she trusted herself to speak. Luckily she didn't have to. "Ichigo, your face is red." He leaned over and pushed her hair away with his hand. "Hm, you don't feel like you have a fever."

"Eh-heh. Why don't you wait downstairs so I can get dressed? Then we can talk about all of this over breakfast... or something." Ichigo wanted to slap herself? Had she really just kind of made a date with him? After their conversation last night, that definitely didn't settle out right with her stomach. She was all knotted up.

Kish's face broke out into a smile. "Okay," and he left. Just like that. Ichigo composed herself and walked over to her mirror. Her face was beat red. No wonder Kish had though she had a fever. She took out a purple blouse, cream-colored shorts, and matching white knee-highs. She pulled her hair into the usual pigtails and walked downstairs. To her surprise Kish had made the two of them breakfast. Bacon and eggs sunny side up on buttered toast. Just for the two of them. He poured two glasses of orange juice and set it out for her on the table. "Sorry. I thought you would be hungry."

"That's okay. It smells really good" Ichigo replied with a smile. Had she spent that long getting dressed? Or was Kish just a really fast cook. Either way the food had been delicious. The two fo them talked for a bit but the conversation aways died after a little while. Ichigo had decided to see if she could find out anything about the world Kish's sister was in by turning on the channel so she flipped the TV on and sat on the couch beside Kish. Once she changed the channel to the right one she was utterly surprised. The contest was on again. Probably a repeat for any who had missed it.

"And for our first match of the second round please give a warm welcome to April from Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region and Alex from New Bark Town in the Jhoto region!" The announcer, an incredibly peppy blonde woman in a blue skirt and blouse, introduced them.

"What!?" Kish exclaimed now on the edge of his seat. April came on to the screen wearing a gorgeous white dress. On the other side of the stadium was a red-haired boy in a dress shirt and navy blue slacks.

"Let's go, Bayleef!" Alex called. He threw a ball that exploded into light and then a Bayleef stood on the battlefield.

"Bay, Bayleef" Bayleef cried, pawing the ground and looking ready for battle.

"Mys, spotlight!" April called, she proceeded to throw a ball which exploded into soft blue light and confetti. Once the light faded a misdreavus floated above the battlefield. Ichigo gave a small, stifled shriek when she saw the ghost-type pokémon.

"something wrong?" Kish asked, his eyes were dark with concern.

"Nope. Nothing at all" Ichigo said waving dismissively and giggling to spite her fear. _It had to be a ghost... _Ichigo whined in her thoughts.

"Five minutes on the clock! Let the battle begin!" The announcer cried excitedly.

"Mys, use confuse ray!" April commanded and Mys's eyes glowed red for a brief minute, which was enough to make Ichigo cower silently on the couch. Bayleef's eyes started spinning and it started running around in circles on the stage. Alex looked horrified, the battle apparently wasn't going how he had planned. The blue circle that resembled Alex's points turned gray on about 1/8 of it.

"Bayleef! Bayleeeeeeeeef!" He called fruitlessly; trying to snap it out of its confused state. It wasn't working.

"Alright, Mys, let's give him a hand! Psybeam!" April called. Mys happily sent a rainbow-hued beam right at bayleef. It went flying into the opposite wall. Alex lost some more points than Bayleef got up, shook its head around, and glared at Mys.

"Bayleef, are you okay?" Alex asked.

"BAYLEEF!" It cried defiantly.

"Okay, now let's get down to business! Sunny day!" Alex called. Bayleef glowed with a golden aura, as did the entire stage. A few points evaporated from April's bar but she was still in a much better condition than Alex.

"Bah! Mys counter with Perish Song, now!" April demanded and Mys, also sensing the danger of the situation started singing. Bayleef cringed and appeared to be caught in a shadowy net. Both of them lost points but Alex lost double the amount. Ichigo wondered why until she saw that Mys was also cringing. Mys was taking recoil damage but kept singing. The tune was eerie but oddly fitting.

"Solar Beam!" Alex called and the stadium erupted in light. When it faded enough to see Mys was lying on the ground fallen while both trainer shielded their eyes from the intense light and Bayleef stood in the center of a brightly lit arena, looking wiped but confidant.

April still had way more points than Alex but Mys was done. "Misdreavus is no longer able to battle, Alex and Bayleef are the winners!" April and Mys's picture on the screen faded and Alex and bayleef's picture moved to the center of the screen and expanded.

"We won, Bayleef! We're going to the semi-finals!" Alex hugged Bayleef. They didn't see much of April after that battle. Ichigo shut it off after that. April didn't win so she saw no point to leaving it on.

"She... lost?" Kish was staring at the screen disbelieving. Ichigo looked at the time. That entire battle had lasted exactly 3 minutes and 38 seconds.

"Wow..." Ichigo couldn't believe that kid's bayleef had been that strong. It fainted Mys with one hit. "Those contest's must be a lot harder than they look." Kish nodded in agreement.

"Could we watch the rest? I want to see just how far that kid gets." Ichigo nodded and turned it back on. They watched the rest of the preliminaries into the semi-finals. Alex ended up facing a red-haired girl from Blackthorn City who creamed him within the first thirty seconds of the battle using a leafeon she called Fern. She had a tougher battle in the finals against a trainer from Pallet Town but she ended up winning the contest. Her opponent, a girl with short brown hair and a sleeveless, sparkly pink dress stood in the background as the girl from Blackthorn (whose name Ichigo found out was Layla) accepted a yellow ribbon with royal blue trim - the Viridian Ribbon. Her leafeon, Fern, and a growlithe she must have used in the first round sat by her feet. This ribbon was apparently her seventh. The announcer said she would only need one more to enter the Top Coordinator Grande Contest and wished her the best of luck. Then it was over. "I cannot believe she lost to someone who was creamed in the round right after..." Kish shook his head as Ichigo wondered how many ribbons April had collected. The room filled with an awkward silence and Ichigo was about to say something but she was saved by the phone ringing.

"I should get that" Ichigo got up and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

_"Hello, Ichigo. It's Ryou. You'll never guess what we found!" _

"The way to that dimension!?" Ichigo asked.

_ "I stand corrected, you can guess. But yeah, we found it. There's a train that transports people from dimension to dimension. I'm not sure how that works but it does. We'll need special passes but I think I can get us those. If I can accomplish that tonight, we're leaving tomorrow morning. You may want to think of a cover story to tell your parents." _Ryou explained.

"That's great!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I'll have Kish help me think of one." Kish perked up at hearing his name.

_"Kish is at your house?"_

"Yeah. We just finished watching a repeat of the second round of the contest," Ichigo replied.

_"That's perfect! Tell him the news too," _Ryou said.

"Okay! Thanks for everything, Ryou. I'll tell him, bye!" Ichigo said happily and hung up the phone. "Kish!" Ichigo called Kish and told him the news.

"Really!?" Kish asked.

"Yeah!" Ichigo responded. Then Kish did something she hadn't been expecting. He pulled her close and into a hug.

"Thank you for all of your help... you don't know how much this means to me." Kish said happily. Ichigo hugged him back briefly then awkwardly pushed him away. The corners of his eyes pricked with tears of joy.

"If you want to thank me you can help me think of a cover story so I can go with you guys tomorrow," Ichigo said poking Kisshu in the ribs with her elbow. A light blush was spreading across her face. Ichigo and Kisshu spent the rest of the afternoon discussing possible cover stories Ichigo could use. When they decided on one Ichigo made a mental note to remember to bring it up at dinner. Kish even helped Ichigo bake blueberry and chocolate chip muffins to sweeten the deal. However the most pressing matter on Ichigo's mind after everything that had happened was that she hadn't wanted Kish to leave when he did so that her mom wouldn't see him.

Just one more thing to add to the long and steadily growing list of things her parents could never know about.

**I'm really sorry about the late update. Before you ppl start flaming me Grande is supposed to be spelled with the 'e' in this case. Also, I think I'm going to switch the focus of the P.O.V between April, Ichigo, and Kish. But only the three of them and it'll center around a different one for each chapter or, as of this one, part of the chapter. Review please!**


	3. On the Road to Viridian City (part 1)

**Sorry about the late update! I haven't had any time to write! I'm so very sorry! This is a two-part chapter so without further ado I give you part one!**

Ichigo woke up feeling full of energy. She got ready and was all packed by 11:30. Her dad had outraged when she'd proposed the idea of a camp. However once she brought out the muffins Kish baked it all appeared to A-okay. She was supposed to be at the café at half past noon.

After Ichigo's mom made sure she was all packed and ready and, most importantly, able to contact them, Ichigo set off. Despite that she hadn't told any lies Ichigo still felt guilty. Okay, so she hadn't told many lies. Technically, she would not be staying at a camp. And although Ichigo had told her dad that the girls and boys would be firmly separated, she wasn't too sure about the sleeping arrangements. And Ichigo, alarmingly realized, that she probably wouldn't mind if she shared a room with Kisshu. Assuming, they ended up sleeping in rooms. Ichigo really was not sure.

By the time she arrived at the café, Ryou was handing out train tickets and assuming everyone in the buddy system. So they actually did seem to be leaving for a camp. He was even wearing a T-shirt that read Camp Counselor on it. Keiichiro donned the same shirt.

Pai was lecturing Kish and Taruto on turning their ears normal-looking.

"I'm guessing that you're not coming?" Ichigo asked, as she walked over. Pai turned in her direction.

"No. I have exams, maybe I'll go another time. Something tells me you aren't going to just find her. It's never that easy," Pai said darkly.

"I guess," Ichigo shrugged it off.

"Well, Koneko-chan, since you're the last one here you'll never guess who your stuck with for a buddy," Kish said happily.

"Um... Taruto?"

"Nah, I'm with pudding. Your partner is Kisshu," Taruto said. He was playing with his now normal-looking ears. Ichigo looked at Kish. Lettuce came up to them and handed them T-shirts with the name 'Camp Adventure' written on it. "What? That's the best he could come up with?" Taruto complained as he gave his size small T-shirt a questioning look.

"It was on short notice." Lettuce defended, then went to hand the rest of them out. Ichigo went to change. Once she was done she found Kisshu.

"So how did we end up partners? Did you ask for me or something?" It was an innocent enough question to ask. Kisshu's face went scarlet.

"It went by default. You're the last one here and I was the last one up," he explained.

"Okay. Not like I'd mind either way," Ichigo shrugged and sat at a nearby table.

"So the cafe's just going to be closed while we're gone?" Mint asked.

"Yeah. Pai's the only one who'll be staying here," Ryou informed them. "Okay the train leaves at 12:45 so let's get to the station!" Ryou clapped his hands together and they all made their way to the train station.

The station bustled with usual activity. Normal people ran this way and that. Then, a thought occurred to Ichigo.

"How do we know which train will just take us downtown to across the country or to," Ichigo lowered her voice. "A whole other dimension."

"The train number of course." Kish replied.

Ichigo looked at her ticket. It had a place for a stamp but no train number. "Okay, but this ticket doesn't have a train number on it!"

Kish took her ticket and examined it. Then he looked closely at his own. "You're right, no train number." Ichigo walked over to Ryou and pointed this out to him. Many of the other 'campers' had noticed this problem as well.

"Okay, okay! I'll go to the admissions desk and see what I can find out. Everyone else just look excited for camp or something," Ryou exclaimed, then he went to haggle with the ticket master.

"So, what do you think this place will be like?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Not sure. You've seen the creatures that live there; I'm not sure what to be expecting anymore. The fruit could sing at night and it wouldn't phase me," Kish said.

Ichigo giggled. "So, are you excited to be seeing your sister again?"

"Well, I haven't seen her since I left for this mission, and that was a long time ago. Though yeah, I guess I am kind of excited." Kish admitted.

They talked a little more about random things. They discussed why Ryou might be taking so long, where the train probably let off, what they might find once they got there, things like that. Ichigo's eyes flitted to a pair of young-looking girls arguing. One was holding a subway map and the other looked very familiar.

One was fair skinned with long, straight red hair that fell halfway down her back and green eyes. She wore a green blouse and a denim skirt with white leggings. The leggings reached about mid-calf and a rose design worked its way up her leg. She wore a necklace with a leaf charm. The other girl was tan and built like a surfer with mousey brown hair laden with blue streaks in a ponytail. Her eyes were an intense cerulean blue. She wore a powder blue sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. This girl had a necklace with bubbles on it. They appeared to be having an argument.

"I told you that was the wrong train. Now look where we ended up," Said the red haired girl. She spoke softly but her tone was rather defiant.

"Alright, alright. We got on the wrong train, so sue me! Kenny and Ally are waiting for us and now we're going to be late," The other argued. She wrestled with the subway map trying to figure out how they had gotten on the wrong train and how to get back.

Kisshu and Ichigo exchanged looks and walked over to them. "Uh, hi," Ichigo said.

"Hello," said the brown haired one grumpily. She didn't even look up.

"Hi," The red haired one said, smiling, her tone now much more gentle.

Ichigo looked at her face with confusion for a moment. That face... that hair... those eyes... that voice... she knew it from somewhere.

"Okay, Layla, I think I know how to get back now," The other girl said happily. An enigmatic smile lit her face. Layla?

Layla... Layla... Oh, Layla! Now Ichigo knew where she'd seen her before! She was the coordinator who'd won the Viridian contest! "Wait, Layla? You wouldn't happen to be the Layla from the Viridian contest would you?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, I am," Layla replied. "Oh, this is Lyla, she travels with me." The brunette smiled and waved.

"Wait so... your names are Layla and Lyla. Isn't that redundant?" Kish asked.

"Yeah, kind of. We're used to it though," said Lyla.

"You wouldn't by any chance be trying to get back to the pokémon world, would you?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, actually. She got us on the wrong train by holding the map upside down," said Layla.

"The map is confusing! And it doesn't exactly tell you which side is up and which is down!" Lyla argued.

"That is true," Ichigo agreed.

"We're trying to get there too. You see, we have to find my sister," Kish said.

"That's fine, I know what train it is now. Why don't you come with us?" Lyla asked.

"That would be great but, we were supposed to be going with the rest of our 'camp'," Ichigo said.

"Well, then we'll show you the train," said Layla.

"Cool! I'll go get everyone!" Ichigo said and ran off, leaving Kish with the two girls.

"Who's your sister?" Layla asked.

"April, from Snowpoint City," Kish replied.

"Oh, I know her. She's very nice. Her voice is so... well, it's almost magical," said Layla. Lyla nodded in agreement. Kish smiled weakly.

"Yeah. A lot of people say that," he offered.

"You two look alike," said Lyla.

"No we don't." Kish disagreed.

"Yes you do. You have the same eyes and hairstyle," Lyla said. "It's okay. I hate it when people compare me to my family too."

Ichigo came back with everyone except Lettuce and Ryou. Ryou was still arguing with the ticket guy and Lettuce had offered to go get him. She was dragging him by the back of his shirt collar, but she was coming.

"It's this train!" Lyla exclaimed pointing to a normal looking train. All of the people inside looked normal, you wouldn't be able to tell it went from one dimension to the next. Not many people got off and even fewer were getting on. "Let's go!" They rushed onto the train and got a scene that was anything but ordinary.

People of all different kinds of things sat around. There were some kids that looked normal playing with was was, undeniably, a pokémon. Two girls were chatting in a seat in a language that didn't sound anything human-like. A girl in a dark cloak sat with a smaller girl with amber eyes,the smaller one had a bow on her lap, and a sheath of arrows slung over her shoulder. Some guy's head was on fire but it didn't look like it bothered him. A woman was reading a book about making potions and if Ichigo's eyes weren't playing tricks on her, there was a pixie zipping around.

"But... outside we saw..." Lettuce's jaw had dropped.

"The windows are enchanted. Normal people would go nuts knowing this stuff existed. That's why security limits the train so much. Only some of the security know of course," Layla explained. "Let's go find a seat."

They sat behind arrow girl and her cloaked friend. "Uh... do you know..." Lettuce began.

"I'd guess there are a few aliens on here, a witch, a pixie, and that girl is wearing a scythe miester's cloak so they're probably from the academy," Lyla guessed. "I wouldn't ask about the academy though, if I were you I mean." She looked at lettuce whose mouth was open, likely about to ask something. She shut it.

The train ride was apparently going to last a couple of hours so they had lots of time to plot their next move and talk.

"So what is your sister like?" Ichigo asked. She leaned back into the seat and looked at Kisshu.

"Well, she's really nice and a little headstrong," Kish said.

"Does she have any strange powers like Taruto?" Ichigo asked.

Kish laughed. "She can't control plants, but yeah she does have a power. Her voice, she can use it to sway emotions."

"Wow. I'd kill to have that power," Kish went pale and looked at Ichigo. Then she realized her mistake - he thought someone wanted her dead. "Sorry, bad metaphor. I just meant that it would be a nice thing to have."

Kish relaxed. "Yeah. It is pretty cool."

"With a voice like that, she must have been popular with the boys on your planet." Ichigo said.

"Yeah. They used to hide outside the music room to listen to her sing," Kish replied.

"Gee, that must have been cool. I can't sing very well at all," Said Ichigo.

"I'm sure that's not true."

"No it's true. My music teacher despises me," said Ichigo. Kish gave her a quizzical look. It was awkward for about a minute, then Taruto and Pudding came in to save the day.

"Those kids have a cute pokémon na no da!" Pudding exclaimed.

"It electrocuted me!" Taruto shouted.

"Is that why your hair is standing up?" Asked Ichigo.

Layla laughed. "That's just how pichu show that they like you and want to be your friend."

"Yeah? Well they have a funny way of showing it..." Taruto grumbled, sitting next to Kish. Pudding climbed over everyone and sat beside Ichigo. One of the little boys ran up with a small yellow pokémon over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Pichu shocked you, and Pichu's sorry too," he said.

"Pi, pichuuuu..." the tiny pokémon cried, tears welling up in the corner of it's eyes.

"Awwww..." Ichigo had tears welling up in her eyes now too. "You should forgive it Taruto."

"I told you it was cute na no da!" Pudding exclaimed happily.

Taruto sighed. "Fine, I forgive you," he said.

"Pi! Pichu, pi!" Pichu cried happily, a shower of sparks flew off of it. The lights on the train even started acting funny and that little spark was enough to cause a surge apparently, because the power went out and the train stopped dead.

"Uh, oh. Pichu caused another power out," said the little boy.

_"Another!?_ You mean to say that Pichu's done this before?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, but it's never happened on a train before," he said.

"Attention passengers! An unidentifiable source has caused a minor power outage and the train has stopped. We will attempt to get the power back up and running as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience," a monotone voice blared throughout the train.

"Unidentifiable source my..." Ichigo muttered, though she never quite finished at an audible volume.

Ryou burst in minutes later acting like the responsible camp counselor he was not. "Okay, all Camp Adventure kids find your buddy and remain together and seated until we sort this out!" He shouted.

"Well, looks like we have to stay together Ichigo, _buddy_," Kish said happy, to have an excuse to scoot closer to her. Ichigo didn't really mind. She peered around to see Pudding and Taruto trying very hard to not look guilty. Mint and Zakuro were sitting together. Mint was fawning over something in it but Zakuro looked as indifferent as always. Lettuce was running around with Ryou and Keiichiro acting like camp counselors. Wait a minute, Lettuce hadn't been a camp counselor this morning.

"Hey, Lettuce!" Ichigo called. She rushed over.

"Is something wrong Ichigo?"

"No, it's just, you weren't a camp counselor this morning but now you are. What happened?"

"Oh, we though Pai might have been coming with us but he was stayed back. Since he stayed I ended up without a buddy and Ryou gave me a Camp Counselor shirt so I wouldn't need one. All it really means is I hang around with them discussing our plans for when we get there. And I have to help keep you all looking like we're actually going to a camp." Lettuce explained.

"Okay, but what camp had only six campers and three counselors?" Ichigo asked.

"She does have point," Kish agreed.

"I don't know, maybe we're just the extraction team or something and our alias is that there are more kids waiting?" Lettuce didn't sound sure.

"It's alright. I was just curious," said Ichigo.

Kish dug out an old checkers game from one of the table drawers. He and Ichigo played for a little while. They were halfway through a fifth game, Ichigo was winning. "Hey, Koneko-chan, how about we make this a bit more interesting?" He asked.

"I'm listening. Interesting how?" She asked, not looking up but studying Kish's checkers pieces.

"Well, if I win you have to kiss me," He said.

She looked up. "And how about when I win?"

"I'll... well, what do you want me to do?" He asked. Ichigo grinned evilly.

"C'mere, I'll tell you." He leaned over the checkers game and Ichigo whispered something in his ear.

"Oh, that's easy! You're on Koneko-chan!" He exclaimed. They cleared the chess board and started over. Kish easily one the first game. "Haha! Now you have to kiss me Koneko-chan!"

"Alright, sure." She leaned forward. Kish happily leaned closer but at the last second, Ichigo moved, pecked him on the cheek and pulled away.

"Hey!" Kish protested.

Ichigo laughed. "I said I would kiss you."

"Yeah, and you didn't!"

"No, I did. I kissed you on the cheek. So, technically speaking, I did kiss you." Kish couldn't argue. Ichigo did have a point.

"Fine, let's do it again. Same terms except when you lose you have to kiss me on the lips," Kish said.

Ichigo crossed her arms. "Fine, but you have to do it, when I win, on top of the table," She said firmly.

Kish laughed. "Ha! That's nothing! I agree to these terms," He held out his hand and they shook on it. The game started. Ichigo had easily back Kish into corners and he'd kinged two of her pieces. Kish had no kings, but Ichigo had half of his pieces.

"Looks like I'm going to win," she said happily.

"No you're not!" Kish exclaimed. Ichigo dominated the game after that and Kish lost. "How about best two out of three?" He asked.

"Sure, I'll play again but you have to do it first." Ichigo said. Kish sighed and stood atop the table. Ichigo watched him patiently.

"I...amaprettypincess. There, I did it!" He said it very fast and very low.

"What? Sorry Kish, I couldn't hear you."

He sighed. "I am a pretty princess."

"And?"

"And I like to dance in my tiara while wearing a pink, frilly tutu." Poor Kish looked mortified.

"Alright you can get down now," Ichigo said, holding back giggles.

Just as Kish looked to get down, the train burst back to life. The lights turned back on and the train lurched forward. This knocked Kish off his feet and he fell on top of Ichigo.

"Attention passengers, the problem has been solved and we will now begin our departure for Saffron City," Said the monotone announcer. "Thank you for your patience."

Kish's face had turned scarlet. "I... I did not intend to do that!"

Ichigo laughed. "It's okay."

"Good," Kish smiled back.

"Uh, Kish, could you please get off of me now?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry," He straightened and sat next to her. They watched the train pass through an endless tunnel then Ichigo slumped and fell onto Kisshu, he head lolling on his shoulder. "Hey, Ichigo are you," He stopped himself. She was asleep. He smiled and brushed her bangs aside and watched the train pass.

Kish was nodding off too when the train pulled out. Bird pokémon flew around the sky as the sun lazily made its way over the horizon. There was a large city surrounded by forest that they were coming up on. Kish nudged Ichigo awake.

"Hnnn. Wha?" She asked sleepily. Then she realized she was leaning on Kish. "Ah! I'm sorry!" She pulled away.

"Nevermind that, look outside Ichigo!" Kish pointed out the window. Her eyes widened.

"Look's like we're here." She said.

"Yep." Kish couldn't help but smile. _Watch out, your big brothers coming for you, April. _Kish thought as the train pulled into the station with a feeling of incredible optimism.

**Okay so I know I said I would be focusing on one or the other and this chapter kind of went from Ichigo over to Kish. Sorry. That's all I really have to say. Oh yeah, and please review. **


	4. HIATUS, please read, don't ignore please

**My computer is totally broken and I am currently unable to work on any projects right now. So all of my stories are pretty much going on hiatus until I get a new battery for my computer until then, and so you guys know I am alive, I may put up the occasional one-shot and an update here and there. I can only work when I get my parents' computer so I can't really do any new chappies right now. My DSI is the only thing allowing me any contact as it lets me respond to messages on here, thank the gods, but I can't write on it unfortunately and finishing something in a notebook doesn't make the story update. It just gives me less work for when I can type. One-shots are about all I'll be good for, for a while anyway. I'm almost done with the newest Chapter for Apprentice so that will likely be my last update for a while... if I can even get it up. As of now, it's broken and I'll never get to work on anything. I'll go (more) crazy thinking of late updates! So when I do get the computer I'll probably be writing one-shots. Or if I feel like it, working on chapter updates. All I'm saying is it's going to be a while before I can update on a regular schedule again. Sorry for any and all inconvenience and thank you to the kind understanding souls I'm going to assume all of you are, as I don't know all of you in person and while I would like to I can't and would hate to make someone out for what they are not. (some friends of mine prefer being evil so I don't want to offend anyone)**

**Mei, April, Star, and Blair are my OC's, everyone else I do not own. I disclaim them, take no credit whatsoever. They are not mine. Also, this authors note has been posted on all of my stories currently in progress. And that is why there are descriptions. Which means, even if I have not updated in a long while I fully plan on writing more. This statement does not apply to all but it does to some.**

**Kisshu and Ichigo are from Tokyo Mew Mew, Jareth and Sarah are from the movie Labyrinth, Silver and Blaze are from Sonic the Hedgehog, Ib is from... Ib, Viola and Ellen are from The Witch's House, Lum and Ataru are from Urusei Yatsura. No characters from the capital's stories are here but that should be apparent why by the end. I think I hit everybunny, I'm okay now. **

**April - 12-year-old (or quite possibly 13; I can't remember which is sad) cyniclon with jet black hair cut to a quarter of her back with strands tied in front of her ears (like her brother's) and gold eyes. Kisshu's little sister. **

**Mei - Shoulder length milk chocolate-colored hair, electric blue eyes. Medium build. 15 years old. **

**Star - 13-year-old. Pale skinned with light blue eyes and almost white, blonde-hair. A powder blue tatoo of a star is on her right cheek. Blair's younger sister. **

**Blair - 17-year-old tan skinned with ebony-black hair and incredibly dark, almost black but not quite, brown eyes. Star's older sister. **

The door burst open and, suddenly, they were standing in a overly strange and kind of out-of-place room.

With white-washed walls decorated with posters and drawings, plushies and books littering the floor and a window with the curtains drawn shut it looked very much like it would soon be hosting someone but was currently abandoned.

In a chair behind a desk with a computer on it sat a small girl who could have been no older than fifteen at the least, with long dirty-blonde curls hastily tucked into a ponytail and light peridot green eyes bordering on crazy and intelligent. She had her nose stuck in a book. She wore a red T-shirt with faded white lettering on it and a pair of navy capris'.

When she heard the door close she stuck a piece of paper in it and shut it. Without even looking up she smiled warmly, as though she had been expecting these people.

What people? You may be asking. Why Ib, Viola (in Ellen's body), Sarah and Jareth, Mei, Ichigo, Kisshu, and April, Lum, Ataru, Silver and Blaze, and, of course, Star and Blair stood in the room. The strange girl peered up at them she smiled but they all had grim faces.

"We've got a bone to pick with you," Blair started through gritted teeth.

"Hiya guys!" The girl said happily, as if she hadn't heard Blair. At all.

"What's all this nonsense about our stories going on hiatus?" Ichigo asked, shaking her fist in the air angrily.

"Oh, that," the smile dropped from her face and her eyes darted to the desktop computer. "This stupid thing won't turn on. But when it does it isn't long until it re-starts or shuts back off."

"So we're all here because your computer doesn't want to turn on," Silver said dryly.

The girl smiled shyly. "Yep. It's not that the poor baby doesn't want to. It can't. The battery's gone dry and it needs a new one."

"So give it a new one, already! I've been kidnapped for how long now and I'm still unconscious?" Mei said angrily, her bottom lip jutted out though a slight smile played at her lips.

"I can't," she said lamely.

"Why?" Mei whined.

"Because, a) I have no idea what battery I need, b) I have to take it apart to find out, c) I don't want someone to wipe all of my data off of it when the battery is the problem and not the hard drive, and d) it's gonna be expensive and I don't have the money yet," She explained.

"Well at least tell us who you are," Kisshu asked.

"Me? I'm the authoress of your stories. You may call me Tokyo," said the girl.

"Um...okay? So how long until you can update again?" Ichigo asked.

"Uh... not sure," Tokyo admitted, she scratched her head trying to think. All of their faces fell.

"Wait just a damn second! How the heck are you writing this if you computer won't turn on!?" Mei demanded. Several of the characters nodded in agreement.

"It's elementary, my dear. You see, I borrowed my parents computer to write this so I could inform all of the followers what was going on rather than make them wait the amount of time it might take to fix this. Plus, I have quite a bit of summer homework and not a lot of time to write anyway. So it's going to be very hard for me to update and I have decided to try and fix and finish what's almost done and/or hasn't been published yet. Combine that with I never know when I'll get on a working computer and I don't know for how long and you have my reasoning for not being able to update," Tokyo stated matter-of-fact.

"Oh," the characters said in unison.

"Plus, if I don't get it before summer ends I'll end up piled in so much work from honors classes that I'll never get anything up," Tokyo was the one whining now.

"Awww..." They whined in protest.

"Oh, shut up. I will be trying to update it's just not going to happen on a regular schedule or very often until I get everything sorted out," Tokyo sighed. "I'm sorry everybody. I really am as I love, love, LOVE, to write. But as it stands I cannot write now so I will have to put all of my stories on hiatus and give you all my most sincere and formal apologies. I will not be disappearing and I'll be updating from time to time. But I will probably be putting up a lot of new stories that aren't really new as I've had them for a long time, just never finished or edited them. Since I can't really work on anything I will be using whatever time I get to ease my guilt and finish or re-write or edit them. On the list of stories to re-write is actually A Fairytale Waiting to Happen." At this point Sarah and Jareth's jaws dropped to the floor. "Not sure how far I'll get with that though... or if I'll even go through with it. I'll admit that I am also a procrastinator and can be pretty damn lazy but I get busy too. So I really hope," Tokyo bowed her head and quickly got back up. "That all of you can be patient and forgive me. I would also like to apologize from the deepest part of my heart for any of you who got your hopes up when you saw an update and found this. Thank you all for dealing with me and for even reading this. Also, I am very, very sorry."


End file.
